Skeptics And True Believers
by Hallucinogenix
Summary: ECLARE! But with a side of KC! Ooooo, intrigue.  P.S. This isn't a love triangle; you will just know KC's inner feelings on Eclare. CHAPTER FOUR IS UP!
1. Introductions

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INTRODUCTION:

**KC's POV - **

You know... it probably seems like I never notice Clare. It probably seems like I never even see her, like she never even crosses my mind. But to be honest.. I'd have to say that that's completely false. I guess I've just become good at hiding it. I know I shouldn't be thinking of Clare this much, but how can I so easily forget the girl that made me a "good guy"; the guy I always wanted to be. Now, don't get me wrong. I love Jenna, I really do. I guess what makes it so difficult to forget Clare is our ending. I never wanted it to be like that. I never wanted to hurt her. It's just too late for that though.

**Clare's POV -**

When my relationship with KC first ended, I never imagined that I would be able to restore myself 100%. And I never expected to be so completely engrossed in another boy again. However... slowly, but surely, the despair went away and I was Clare again; an even better Clare. By the end of the school year, all thoughts of sadness had gone and the only thing left was anger. How could KC possibly treat me like that? How could he have let his stupid Barbie Doll bimbo manipulate him to use me? Pff, and then putting the blame solely on her for all of his problems? That's not how it works. I made my anger towards him very clear and I have to say that it truly felt great. Over the summer, I grew stronger and more confident. Chopping away almost 7 inches of my hair left me feeling free and beautiful for one of the first times in my life. And when the laser eye surgery came along, I felt invincible. And shortly later is when I met Eli...

**Eli's POV - **

School had never been something I enjoyed. It wasn't the work I minded. It was the people. High school kids were always so...stupid. They spent their time preoccupied over the most mindless matter. They were robots.

So now that my family and I had moved to this new city, a new school awaited my arrival. Boy, this was going to be fun! The only thing that made the drive to Degrassi Community School less painful was the fact that I was in my beloved hearse. I was fully prepared for the looks I would get for driving around in this thing. I enjoyed those looks.

Driving into the parking lot that morning, I saw something I never expected to see. And I felt something I never expected to feel. A girl, with short curly ginger-y blond hair stood their, with glasses in her hand. I have no idea why but she immediately caught my interest. In a daze, I ran over her glasses. Stepping out, I handed them to her, and that's when I noticed her eyes. They were of a vibrant blue, almost glass-like... yet full of emotion...


	2. Writer's Block

**I know this chapter is heavily filled with dialogue that we've already heard in the episodes. Things will definitely get better though! Hopefully in the next chapter! I'm gonna incorporate a lot of new dialogue and more inner thoughts. I promise :) PLEASE REVIEW!**

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_"I think they're dead..."_

_"It's - uh - okay... I don't need them anymore. Got... laser surgery." _

_"You have pretty eyes."_

_"Thanks. I'll - uh - see you around?" _

_"I guess you will..." _

**Clare's POV - **

Although Eli and I had crossed paths several times since the glasses-crushing incident, we had yet to speak to each other. I spent a full hour of each school day sitting directly behind him in our Advanced Englsh class. Despite the lack of any verbal communication, we would share a glance at the end of each class and occasionally, he would shoot me a clever little smirk. I admit... I 've thought about talking to him many, many times. Possibly a little tap on the shoulder? Followed by a question about the assignment? But let's face it, I've never been one to be forward.

And in this fasion, a few days quickly passed. I found myself once again seated behind Eli, trying not to stare at his raven black hair. I silently began drawing spirals on the cover of my notebook as Ms. Dawes passed our latest assignment back. I was shocked at the grade I received.

_"Ms. Dawes, there must be some sort of mistake. I've never gotten a C. How did this happen?" _

_"Well, your early assignments were divine, but recently your writing has become distant, impersonable." _

_"I used complex sentence structure and advanced vocabulary."_

_"But your assignment didn't tell me anything about who you are. You can't hide behind vampire fiction forever." _

_"I'm not hiding."_

_"Then prove it. To your writing partner."_

_"Me?" _- Eli had spoken in a slightly shocked tone.

_"Yeah, you. You write well, but you're a little wordy. You and Clare will be editing each other's work this semester."_

_"Great. That'll be fun." _- I sarcastically chimed in.

_"We may have a very special partnership on our hands people! Like Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes!"_

_"Sylvia Plath killed herself."_

Excitement lay deep down in my gut at the prospect of working with Eli but at the moment it was heavily masked by anger and resentment toward my grade and Eli's somewhat cocky behavior. As I walked towards the door at the end of class, Eli stepped into the door fram just as I did, causing him to bump into me. He looked at me, smirked, and walked away, shaking his head. Ugh. He was getting on my nerves.

That evening, I attempted to put all my effort into my English assignment. However... it was impossible. Mom and Dad were fighting again. Lately, Dad just seemed so distant, and angry. I just needed to know what was going on.

The next morning, I hurriedly tried to finish my English assignment in Media Immersions. But once again, it was a failed attempt. When I finished, I knew the words I had written were still not up to par. At lunch, I met up with Eli in Ms. Dawes classroom. I sat on top of a desk, facing him as he read my paper on gun control. I grew increasingly nervous at what his opinion would be.

_"So, what do you think?" _

_"It's uhhh..."_

_"Awkwardly constructed, filled with hyperbole, and generally sloppy." _

_"The title's centered...?" _

_"Dawes is right! I have writer's block!"_

_"So don't hand it in."_

_"And what? Tell her the dog ate my homework?"_

_"Or you could take off?"_

_"You mean skip?"_

_"If you wanna get official." _

_"... It would give me time to write a better assignment." _

With that the bell rang, and decision time arrived...


	3. Falling Hard

**I hope you guys like this! :) The next chapter will be told from KC's POV and should be up either tonight or tomorrow. KEEP REVIEWING, it keeps me motivated!**

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**Eli's POV - **

Not being all to familiar with the overbearing intrigue the thought of Clare provided, I proceeded with caution. Although... the lack of interaction was beginning to be unbearable to deal with. So when Ms. Dawes assigned Clare as my partner, you could say that I was quite delighted. I was eager to get to know her; to know what went on in her mind. Cause' from where I'm standing, I can't seem to get a clear enough picture. All that I knew right know was that Little Miss Clare was a perfectionist and she wasn't too thrilled about working with me. Hmph. I'd just have to change her mind.

Apparently, Little Miss Perfect wasn't so perfect. Her decision to skip class truly came as a shock to me. And her invitation for me to come along? An even bigger shock. Very bold, Blue Eyes, very bold.

_"So...Clare. Mind if I choose our destination?"_ I was the first to speak up as we left the building.

_"Go right ahead... Elijah." _

Elijah... No one ever called me that. I'd let it slide... this time. I walked towards Morty, taking the keys out of my pocket. Clare, on the other hand, walked right past the hearse.

_"... Clare? Where are you going?" _

She stopped, turned, and stood still, staring at Morty. Uh oh... I think I knew where this was going.

_"We're going in that thing?"_

_"Whoa. His name is Morty. Respect the vehicle." _

_"Vehicle? You do know that's a hearse. The thing they carry dead corpses in!" _

_"What? ... It is? Gee, I had no idea." _

I shot her a quick little smirk and got into Morty, starting him up. I turned to see Clare still frozen in place, hesitation clouding her face. A mere ten seconds later, and she had gotten in. I drove us over to McGraff Avenue and parked in a lot off to the side. I told Clare to stay put as I got out of the hearse and walked over to the passenger side. She looked confused and incredibly cute. Opening the door, I stuck my arm ouwards, escorting her through the door.

_"Come, my lady." _She crawled out, smiling.

_"Why thank you, sir." _She hooked her arm with mine and we walked off to my favorite bench. Yes... a bench. Seems strange, but I came here a few times a week. I loved sitting there, listening to music, and watching the people go by. It was almost like an escape from reality.

We sat at the bench analyzing each others assignments. Clare grew more and more frustrated with her grade. I tried to uncover a topic she could write about that would be more... personal. And thus came the topic of family. Sadly, old Blue Eyes had parental issues to deal with. Been there, done that. I also learned that Little Miss Perfectionist was also Little Miss Cares Too Much About What People Think. I'd have to get that out of her system.

_"Scream. At the top of your lungs." _She stood up, straightening out her dress.

_"Ahhh..." _

_"That's the best you could do?"_

_"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" _

Wow... she sure could scream. She turned towards me and insisted that I scream as well, but hey, that's just not my style. Our little argument brought me backed up into a pole, grabbing Clare's wrist. We were smiling, fully enthralled. Intuition caused me to lean in, just slightly. But alas, I let to of her gently, petite wrists and she walked off, taking a seat back on the bench. All I could do then... was smirk. Oh Clare... this was going to be fun.

An hour passed as we threw sarcastic, somewhat flirtacious, remarks at each other. Being the gentleman that I am, I offered to drive her home and to my satisfaction, she agreed. When we got to her house, she stepped out of Morty and shut the door. She bent down, her curly locks framing her face.

_"Thanks Eli."_

_"Anytime Clare. Anytime." _

Clare Edwards is a truly fascinating creature. There was so much substance behind her engaging beauty...

6:00 p.m. I sat in my bedroom, clad in a black t-shirt and plaid boxers. I stared at the glaring white screen of my computer. It was the only light source in the entire room at the moment and I could feel a headache emerging. I rubbed my eyes as I head a faint _ding! _come from my speakers.

**clare-e23 has signed on. **

I waited a minute and proceeded to IM her.

**eli-gold49: **more public embarrassment tonight?

**clare-e23: **is that an invitation?

**eli-gold49: **do you want it to be?

A few minutes passed and I eagerly waited for a response.

**clare-e23:** love to hang - but i can't

Paranoia took over. Had I done something wrong?

The next morning I was quick to look for Clare and uncover her reason for not being able to hang out. I easily found her at her locker.

_"Missed you last night. Was Twilight on T.V.?" _

_"She thinks she's protecting me by lying but she's making it worse!"_

_"Wait. Stop. Rewind. And Play." _

I found great relief in finding out that Clare had to go to a Church Fundraiser last night although I also found great distress in the fact that she was so troubled by her family's marital problems. It was a subject I knew all too well and I wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone. I wanted to help her through this; help her get to the bottom of what was going on with her parents. And so I suggested she write the English assignment letter to her parents about how she feels. Kill two birds with one stone, right? As she read it to the class, she looked so fragile. The sorrow in her eyes was beautiful. Her emotion was raw and real and touching. I knew I was interferring with my suggestion that she read it aloud at the showcase in front of her mother, but I truly had the best intentions in mind. But, when she ran off without reading it, all I felt was guilt.

I drove to her house that evening... to apologize, which is something I almost never do. But... I cared about Clare and I wanted to part in causing her any pain. I promised not to interfere and at this, she placed her hand on top of mine. My mind froze from the warmth of her touch. I stared down at our joined hands and looked up into her clear blue eyes. Clare Edwards... I'm afraid I'm falling for you.


	4. Regretful Desire

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**KC's POV - **

I'd hoped that this school year would be different; that things would finally fall into place. I was sick of all the problems that I was forced to deal with. Last year had gone from good to horrible so quickly. All the disgusting crap that happened with that scumbag, Coach Carson, left me shaken. I could never trust an adult again. I had no one looking out for me.

The last time I felt good, the last time I felt secure and happy, as when I was with Clare. Her structured life made me believe that my life could be the same way. Clare made me feel normal. She made me feel like I had all the opportunities in the world. Sure, our relationship wasn't perfect, mainly due to me, but that doesn't matter in the end. I wasn't able to accept Clare for who she truly was when I definitely should have. It seems that the one thing I regret is not putting my all into my relationship with her. I gave up. I took the easy way out; to be with Jenna. I do love Jenna, but part of me is still in love with Clare and the things she brought to my happiness. There's a void in my life and the only thing that could possibly fill it... is Clare.

The beginning of this school year was filled with drama when my mom came back into my life. Jenna was there for me through it all, but my thoughts wandered towards Clare. She was so different this year; with the short hair and lack of glasses. She was beautiful before, but now, she glowed. I could see how happy she was and I envied that. I wanted to be her sole reason for happiness.

I stood in front of my locker, discreetly watching her from the corner of my eye. She was standing next to the new kid, Eli Goldsworthy, while he got his books out of his locker. She was laughing. Eli then said something and Clare playfully shoved him. The tension that erupted in them midst of my chest made me sick. Slamming my locker shut, I walked off in the opposite direction of Clare and that... freak. Going into the bathroom, I threw my backpack onto the floor. I put my palms against the wall with my face turn downwards, trying to breathe at a steady pace. The tears that came were unexpected. I quickly wiped them away before they could fall. Why should I care? I shouldn't expect Clare to be moping around, hung up on me. I moved on to Jenna, so she can move on to another guy too. It's good that she's happy. It's good that she's found a guy. I kept trying to convince myself not to care but the sickness in my chest just wouldn't go away... The bell rang, waking me from my thoughts and I rushed my next class, history.

Clare sat in the back of the classroom, writing something down in a small notebook. Luckily, Jenna wasn't in this class. I walked towards Clare and sat in the empty seat next to her. She didn't notice.

_"... Hi Clare." _She abruptly lifted her head to look at me. The shock was clear on her face.

_"KC? ... What're you doing here?"_

_"I'm in this class, remember?" _I gave her a small smile.

_"Well, yeah, but you usually sit towards the front. I meant, what're you doing here in this seat?" _

_"We haven't talked to each other all school year. I thought I'd... see how things were going."_

_"Oh, uhm... well, things are great. How about you?" _

_"Good, I guess. Actually... my mom's out of jail. I'm living with her now." _Clare smiled at my genuinely.

_"That's great, KC." _

_"Yeah, it is. So, anything new with you?" _

_"Hmm... not really. Pretty much the same old, same old."_

_"Oh yeah? ... Who was that guy I saw you with?" _

_"Who? Eli?"_

_"Yeah. What's the deal with him?" _

_"Uhm, we're friends." _I scoffed at her response.

_"Well, you shouldn't be friends with him. He's a freak." _

_"He's not. And I don't think who I'm friends with is any of your business. You know, KC, you and your little girlfriend need to learn to keep your noses out of my life." _She paused and glared, but then turned to face the front of the classroom. After starting at her angered face for a few seconds, I turned as well. Every single word Mr. Perino had said went through one ear and out the other. I hated myself for ruining things with Clare. Why did I have to bring up Eli? Why did I have to mess up every nice moment I had with Clare? My anger boiled under my skin. I could feel my muscles tensing as I balled up my hands into fists. When the final bell rand, I rushed out of my seat and through the door. Once outside, I kicked the chained fence surrounding the parking lot and sank to floor, putting my head in my hands against my knees.

_"Hey... are you... okay?" _I slowly looked up as I head this voice to see black jeans, a black blazer, and the face of an enemy. Eli. I stood up.

_"Is everything alright? Do you need any help or something?"_

_"Not from you."_ I spat my response at him. Walking off, I managed to bump into, causing him to lose his balance and step back a bit. I turned to see him looking back at me, confused, as he got into his death-mobile...


	5. Desperate Hearts

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**Clare's POV - **

Mr. Perino's lecture on the Victorian era was difficult for me to process. KC's little "interrogation" at the beginning of class left me unbelievably angry. usually, I was good at keeping my temper down. I let things go easily and always try to stay calm. But when it comes to Jenna and KC, I just can't do it. I befriended Jenna when she was new to Degrassi, despite Alli's warnings. And KC? I had always been by his side and supported him in everything. It shocked me that I could be betrayed so easily. I was definitely over my attraction to KC. I no longer felt heartbroken. But I couldn't let go of my anger, especially not after Jenna started spreading those boob job rumors around. She lost her second chance right then and there. And now it seems that KC is following in the meddling footsteps of his perky little girlfriend. I don't see why I should be any of his concern. He's the one who left me. I suppose the obvious answer as to why he's acting this way is jealousy, but I don't like to believe that. He has Jenna, the girl he always wanted, so why would he be pining over me?

After class, I made my way towards the parking lot. I had promised Eli that I would meet him in front of Morty to make up for our "missed hang-out time" (the night I was forced to go to the church fundraiser with my mom). He sat on the hood of the hearse, his palm on the spot where his beloved skull ornament once stood.

_"Hi Eli."_ He turned his head, breaking away from a daze, and smiled.

_"Well hello Clare. I'm glad to see that you remembered our plans." _

_"Of course Elijah. Now if only I knew where we were going. Must you always keep our destinations a secret?" _

_"It's more fun this way."_

_"Oh, I'm sure it is. For you." _

I had gotten pretty used to being driven around in a hearse. I admit, it was still a bit odd, but Eli did a good job at keeping my mind off of it. We drove around for about 10 minutes until Eli stopped the hearse and parked against a grassy area.

_"Where are we? This place is deserted." _

_"Calm down, Clare. We're going to be 100% safe. Trust me." _He gazed directly into my eyes and it was impossible for me to not feel secure. We stepped out of Morty and I followed him as he lead me through a clearing in the forest. It was easy to navigate through until a small bush of thorn branches appeared. There was no option but to cross it. Eli stopped ahead of it and turned, putting his hand outwards for me to hold. I took it and he slowly and carefully led me across. We continued our walk in silence until we reached a vast clearing. A small, clean, creek cut across the bright green blades of grass.

_"Wow, I never knew this was here. It's beautiful." _

_"I thought you'd enjoy it. Come on, let's sit over here." _He was referring to a large rock, slightly covered with moss. He sat down fist, choosing to lay flat on his back. I opted to sit next to him Indian-style, placing my elbows on my knees.

_"So, how was your day Eli?" _

_"Excellent. Except for a minor incident at the end of the day." _

_"Oh yeah? What happened?" _

_"Apparently I've angered some pretty boy football player. I believe his name is... KC? Sound familiar Clare?"_Eli and I had never discussed past relationships before, but judging by the tone of his voice, I knew that he knew something. I grew nervous.

_"Clare, relax. This isn't some interrogation. I'm just curious."_

_"Well...KC is my ex." _

_"Ahh... and how exactly did he end up as an "ex"?" _

_"You know Jenna? Blond, perky, cheerleader?" _He nodded. _"Well, long story short: KC dumped me to be with her." _

_"Ouch. It's jerks like him that make me question what this world is coming to. I mean, dumping a girl like you? That's insane." _I smiled at his kindness and her proceeded to tell me exactly what went on between him and KC.

_"I have no idea what's gotten into him lately." _Eli scoffed.

_"I do. He wants you back. He misses you. Who wouldn't?" _Smiling, I uncrossed my legs to lay down next to Eli. I stared up at the sky, just as he did. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his gaze turn towards me. He let out a quiet sigh as his hand crept over to mine...


End file.
